An incredible area, even in southern Utah. The formations let your mind run wild: I saw an Orthodox priest in a cheap plastic chair in a bowling alley; elderly, anthropomorphic lizards; a manatee; you get the idea...

If it wasn't surrounded by so many other beautiful areas, it would be famous.

Explored this valley for a good while. Clambered up a few hoodoos and the far eastern wall on the other side of the canyon. A very lonely and serene place.
I've wanted to visit this place since I seen it in the movie, "Galaxy Quest".

I've climbed about every hill and butte in the area, except for Wild Horse. I've been visiting since I was a kid. Now my children are visiting and loving it too.

Some of my more recent trips are as follows:

October 16 2011:

In the morning, Scott (a different one), Brad, Kessler and I checked out a “new route” at White Roost Canyon. After seeing that we didn’t have enough time to reverse the “new route” and complete the standard route, we headed off to Goblin Valley to check out a slot canyon I had found there earlier in the year.

Kessler, Shaylee, Kimberly, Brad, Scott and I climbed up to some bluffs, climbed an un-named butte for a good look around and made our way over to the slot canyon. After following the slot canyon a ways, we got a big surprise.

The reason the route was so good is that the slot canyon just disappears into a hole in the ground (we didn't expect anything like this). It didn't drop into a crack or a narrow slot, but just a hole. It was kind of intimidating to just look into a deep and dark black hole in the ground since we couldn't see what was down there or if you can get out of it. We lowered a pack down to see if it would hit the bottom with our ropes.

After rappelling 90 feet into the black hole in the ground it opens up into a giant underground chamber. It's maybe 300 feet long and 100 feet wide and high. You don't need a headlamp since there are huge holes in the ceiling (with beams of light spilling in). It's one of the coolest features I've ever seen in a canyon (I hope this isn't spoiling the surprise and giving too much away).

Brad rapped down first (taking ascenders in case the route didn't continue and above we had made sure we could reverse the route if needs be) and shouted up that he would check out "down canyon" and see what there was. After a little while he shouted up for us (anyone who wanted to) to go ahead come down. We were going to send the kids back (with their mom and with me assisting them on the upclimbs), but they really wanted to go down, so we let them (especially since Brad said that after the chamber we could continue down canyon to get out). We completed the entire route in four hours.

May 14 2011

After camping at Little Egypt the night before (and seeing the biggest shooting star that I have ever seen), we (Kimberly, Kessler, Shaylee and my coworker Justin Kuhn) explored the area around Little Egypt a while before we were to head to the Lecleed Narrows (technical slot canyon). Little Egypt is nice little area with hoodoos, balanced rocks and lots of color.

After exploring and hiking the nooks and crannies in Little Egypt, we notice that the skies were dark and cloudy. This was puzzling since the weather forecast was predicting a hot and dry day. Since it was cloudy and dark, we decided not to head for the slot canyon and instead headed north to Goblin Valley.

Along the way to Goblin Valley, it sprinkled a bit, but it never really rained. We explored the nooks, goblins and caverns of Goblin Valley before heading for a highpoint in the park. We climbed the highpoint for some great views. After climbing the highpoint and doing some more exploring, it was time to head back home.

I go to Goblin Valley anytime I'm in the eastern part of the San Rafael Swell. Yep, its a strange place. I've hiked the Curtis Bench trail and Mollies Castle Overlook trail and hiked all over the buttes and goblins and the San Rafael Swell. An interesting fact about Goblin Valley is that it was featured in several movies that either took place in the Old West or the planet Mars.

Drove down here one evening in college for a weekend campout. In the pitch black, with light snow, the park seemed almost spooky. January is an excellent time to go - the campground was nearly empty, and the park saw only a few day use visitors. If you are prepared for cold, January is a great time to go.